Understanding your mutual insurance fundWelcome to Mutualité chrétienne

La solidarité, c’est bon pour la santé.

MUTUALITECHRETIENNE

YOU ARE

HERE

Reimbursement

Sick pay

Hospitalisation

Third-party payment

Contents

Introduction 3Understanding your mutual insurance fund 3

Enrolling with a mutual healthcare fund 5Dependant or main policyholder? 5How to register with the social health insurance fund? 6

Important documents 7Your ISI+ Card 7Identification labels 8Treatment certificates 8

How to obtain a reimbursement 9Higher reimbursements 10

Incapacity to work 13Incapacity to work and disability 13Injured as the result of an accident? 14

Hospitalisation 15Declaration of admission 15To prepare your hospitalisation 16Billing 17

Lexicon 18

Contact us! 20

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Many people believe that Belgium has one of the best social security systems in the world. That may be true and if so, it is the result of a long struggle by our insurance fund to ensure access to quality medical care for everybody. In Belgium each person contribute to health and wellbeing of everyone.

Certain systems of reimbursement require administrative procedures that seem to be complicated to manage. Sometimes it's not so easy to understand the particular vocabulary of insurance funds.

This practical guide will help you to under-stand the aim of an insurance fund. The fol-lowing pages will provide you with all kind of information about your rights that enable you to benefit from our insurance scheme and our reimbursements.

WHAT IS A “MUTUALITÉ”?

A “Mutualité” is a mutual health fund. The principal role of “Mutualité chrétienne” (MC) is to provide the partial reimbursement of healthcare costs.

The primary missions of the mutual insurance fund are:

to provide the partial reimbursement of healthcare costs;

to provide an alternative source of financial income during a period of inability to work;

to offer additional services and benefits; to inform his members (actions of health

preventions); to support his members and to defend their

rights (within in the framework of Inami – National Institute for Sickness/Disability Insurance, in the case of a dispute, ...)

to enhance solidarity (networking and social movements).

Lexicon in the back of the brochure.

Understanding your mutual insurance fund

Introduction

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BECOMING A MEMBER

Beside the management of the Sickness Insurance System and the reimbursement for health care the “Mutualité chrétienne” (MC) will accompany you lifelong. The mutual insur-ance fund offers you benefits and services that are adapted to current life situations of her members. Actually 4,5 million people are registered with MC in Belgium.

MC also provides:

reimbursements and contributions for vaccination, psychomotricity, dental care, home help, medical transport, speech therapy, alternative healthcare, etc.;

100% reimbursement for care until the age of 18 ;

hospitalisation and dental care insurance included in your contribution;

holidays and leisure for all.

SHARED HEALTH DATA – DID YOU GIVE YOUR CONSENT?

Your health record is a storage of all your health data. Generally those data are centrally managed by your GP. If you share the data after having given your “informed consent” they can be used via a secure information system by all healthcare providers who are or were treating you. This improves the quality of your care and avoids unnecessary costs (surveys, etc.). The consent can be signed with the consultants of your health insurance fund, the GP, the phar-macist or via online platforms www.rsw.be or www.reseausantebruxellois.be.

Did you know?The customer advisors of the MC-offices accompany and advise you and listen to you, to find the best possible solution for your health situation. They also forward you to our various services: social service, pension service, domestic help & care,... So do not hesitate to consult one of our customer consultants!

The website www.mc.be provides numer-ous information about your benefits and services at the Christian Health Insurance Fund, the opening hours of the offices, as well as an app that can help you to find the providers in your area. There you can also download useful documents (application forms, information leaflets, etc.)

The magazine EnMarche is the member newspaper of the MC. EnMarche informs about news in the field of health, societal chal-lenges and activities of the MC in your area. More information at www.enmarche.be.

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To enjoy the benefits and services of the health insurance in Belgium, you must register with a mutual health insurance fund. You will then receive a member number.

There are different categoriesof subscriber:

Who can be a dependant?

Children/young adults under the age of 25: children, grandchildren, etc.

Persons living with the policyholder and whose income is lower than a given ceiling: spouse, ascendant, cohabitant.

A spouse living separately under certain conditions.The policyholder

The main policyholder is a person (whether employed, self-employed, unemployed or retired) who “triggers” the entitlement to healthcare (his or her personal entitlement, as well as that of any dependants).

The dependant

A dependant is a person who benefits from healthcare entitlements via the main policyholder.

The assisting spouse

The spouse or life partner of a self- employed person is automatically considered as the assisting spouse by the social insurance fund of the self-employed. With the excep-tion of the spouses of plant managers, the spouses must register as directly insured persons with their health insurance.

Enrolling with a mutual healthcare fund

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Dependant or main policyholder?

How to register with the social health insurance fund?

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You are a student or stop / interrupt your studies?

• College- or university-students will remain covered with their parents until the age of no more than 25 years. If you are studying beyond the age of 25, you have to apply for a student health insurance or make a registration as a resident (if no co-insurance is possible and if you live alone). Trainees (under contract) as of January 1 of the year in which they turn 19 years of age, must register as self-insured persons.

• Termination or end of studies: You have

found a job: just the next day after the start of employment notify a health insurance fund of your choice, which will provide you with the documents to be filled in by the employer.

• Termination or end of studies: Looking

for work: first register as a jobseeker (whether you already have your diploma or not) with the employment office (FOREM, ADG, ACT IRIS). After a spe-cific waiting period you will receive unemployment benefits. As long as you are no older than 25 years, you stay co-insured with your parents during this waiting period and receive the health benefits as such. Once you receive unemployment benefits, you must reg-ister with your health insurance as a self-insured person (if no co-insurance is possible and if you live alone).

If you are not in one of the situations referred to in this article, contact the 0800 70 9 8 7 (free of charge) so that our consultants will explain the procedure you have to follow for your registration.

You are a national of a foreign state

In this case you have several ways to get health coverage according to the rules of international agreements. You can be sent, for example, by your employer to Belgium or you can spend your retirement as a pensioner in Belgium. Any consultant of the Christian Health Insurance can tell you more about these cases.

Under specific conditions (low income and living under the same roof) you can stay co-insured with another insured person (spouse, ascendant, child or life partner). For this purpose request a reg-istration form from the health insurance fund and submit it to the main insured person of your household so that he or she can fill it in.

You are co-insured

You are a salaried worker

In this case you can sign up using the documents the health insurance fund will deliver you. You get the social security rights thanks to the contributions your employer will transfer.

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When you enrol with a mutual insurance fund, you will receive a series of helpful documents in the course of your contacts with the fund. These will allow you to benefi t from health-care and the various forms of reimbursement.

Since January 1 2014 you must show your electronic identity card (eID) or any other elec-tronic identity document (Kids-ID for children, Belgian resident permit eID) in pharmacies (when purchasing reimbursable medicinal products), hospitals or to the doctor. Using your national registration number the providers can retrieve certain data on your electronic identity card. People residing in Belgium without a valid electronic identity card (children under 12, European diplomats and frontier workers) will receive a special card called ISI +, issued by the health insurance.

Your ISI+ Card

Did you know?

• Always keep your ISI+ Card on you. You will need it whenever you go to a phar-macy, hospital or clinic, consult your mutual insurance adviser, etc.

• The ISI+ Card cannot be used abroad. When you are planning to travel abroad, please request the appropriate document.

Important documents

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It is important for us to have accurateand up-to-date information. alwaysnotify your mutual insurance fund in

accident (private life, traffic, occupational, etc.);

change to your professional status; change of address; change of bank account; loss of the ISI+ Card; sickness/hospitalisation; marriage/cohabitation; separation/divorce; birth/adoption; retirement; death.

Every policyholder and dependant receives detachable identification labels made out in their name. These labels contain a series of information that allows you to be identified: the name and number of the mutual insurance fund, your name, address, membership num-ber and reimbursement code. They are also used to identify documents such as treatment certificates after a visit to the doctor, physi-otherapist, etc.

At MC, the detachable identification labels are yellow, which is why you will sometimes come across the term “yellow label” in our letters, contacts, etc.

After each consultation with a healthcare provider (doctor, dentist, etc.) , you will receive a treatment certificate containing information about the treatment you have received and the price you paid for it. You must submit this certificate to your mutual insurance fund so that you can be reimbursed for part of what you have paid. Please note that part of the cost will remain payable by you. This part is known as the “co-payment” or “personal share”. Any supplements in the charges made for your treatment can also be added to this amount payable by you.When you visit a pharmacy, you only pay the amount of the co-payment for all drugs eligible for reimbursement.

Identification labels

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DROULANE SYLVIERUE PETER BENOIT 31040 ETTERBEEK110/110 670410 196 82 NISS

Did you know?• Always stick a yellow label on every doc-

ument you send to your mutual insurance fund, such as treatment certificates issued by a doctor, dentist, physiotherapist, etc.

• Keep a few labels with you at all times; they will come in useful when you consult a doctor, dentist or when you go along to the mutual insurance fund to request information or submit your treatment certificates.

Treatment certificates

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The amount of the fees charged by the health-care provider, as well as the amount that will be reimbursed to you by the mutual insurance fund, is determined by statutory agreements. However, healthcare providers are at liberty to adhere to these agreements or not. Those that do adhere to them are called “registered healthcare providers”.

REGISTERED HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS (“Prestataire conventionné”)

This healthcare provider undertakes to apply the official treatment rates agreed between the mutual insurance funds and the represent-atives of the healthcare providers. Only your personal share (or co-payment) will remain payable by you.

NON-REGISTERED HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS (“Prestataire non- conventionné”)

This healthcare provider has opted not to adhere to the agreement between the medical and insurance professionals and is therefore

YOUR PERSONAL FILE ONLINEThe MC website (www.mc.be) allows you to view and print off your reimbursements, order and download documents (identification labels, etc.). You can also check your personal details and those of persons under the age of 18 in your care.

Did you know?• Each time you visit or consult a doctor,

dentist, etc. you will receive a treatment certificate (green, white, blue or orange). Do not lose it, because without a certifi-cate you cannot receive a reimbursement.

• You have two years to request and obtain reimbursement for treatment received. Once this deadline has passed, your treat-ment will no longer be reimbursed.

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How to obtain a reimbursement

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free to set fees at any level for the services provided. This means that if you consult this type of healthcare provider, only the official treatment rate (see above) will be reimbursed. You will have to pay for any additional fees that the doctor may charge, as well as the co-payment.

PARTIALLY REGISTERED HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS (“Prestataire partiellement conventionné”)

There are also healthcare providers who apply the registered healthcare provider rates at certain times or on certain days or depending on the place where they practise (private practice, clinic, etc.).Unfortunately, it is not always easy to establish when exactly these standardised rates are applied by this kind of healthcare provider.

PREFERENTIAL REIMBURSEMENT RATE BENEFICIARY (“Bénéficiaire de l’intervention majorée” or BIM)

Health-Disability Insurance legislation allows people with lower income to benefit from higher reimbursements for medical treatment and drugs. This is known as the Preferential Reimbursement Rate. Those who benefit from it are therefore known as the Preferential Reimbursement Rate Beneficiaries or BIM (Bénéficiaire de l’intervention majorée).

These beneficiaries are:

Automatic entitlement to benefits (without income assessment) : If you benefit from an integration income (or an equivalent benefit of the public social welfare), if you are a

disabled person or an orphan under 25 years of age;

An income assessment will be done if you are widow(er), disabled, pensioner, a long-term unemployed person or a single parent.

Outside of these categories, you can get an increased reimbursement of health costs if your previous year earnings are below a certain ceiling. Then you will be paid higher rates of reimbursement for your medical expenses and some medicines.

Contact your healthcare adviser.

THIRD-PARTY PAYMENT (“Tiers-payant”)

The third-party payment system enables you not to have to advance the total amount for certain services. Only the personal share (or co-payment) needs be paid. Certain ser-vices must be billed via third-party payment (e.g. during hospitalisation). Provisions vary according to the terms of the agreement in question.

Did you know?The fees of contract doctors as well as the reimbursement rates can be found on our website: www.mc.be. You can also use an app to check whether your provider adhere to the insurance fund tariffs or not.

Higher reimbursements

For consultations and visits to the doctor, third-party payment cannot apply unless you belong to one of the following categories:

beneficiaries of the preferential rate; beneficiaries whose household has a tax-

able gross annual income no higher than the amount of the integration income;

persons fully unemployed for more than 6 consecutive months (head of family or single parent);

beneficiaries of preferential family allow-ances. If your healthcare provider prac-tises the third-party payment system, their fees will be directly paid by the mutual insurance fund up to the amount covered by Healthcare and Invalidity Insurance.

MAXIMUM BILLING (“Maximum à facturer” or MAF)

Maximum Billing (MAF) guarantees that each household does not have to pay more than a certain amount per annum for its healthcare. If your legal co-payments exceed these thresholds, the (statutory co-payments) will be refunded 100%. This does not apply to the other extra medical fees. This amount is determined according to the social category or income of the household. All persons living at the same address (as of 1st January of the Maximum Billing year) are considered to be part of the same Maximum Billing house-hold. There is no distinction between married persons and cohabitants. Single persons are also considered as a “household”.

What healthcare costs are covered?

Co-payments relating to the fees of doctors, physiotherapists, nurses, paramedics, etc.*

Co-payments relating to technical inter-ventions, such as surgery, technical exam-inations, laboratory examinations, etc.

Co-payments relating to category A, B and C drugs (except for Cx and Cs). (You will find the category indicated on the drug packaging).

Certain hospitalisation costs.

* Supplements charged on top of statutory fees are not covered.

To find out more, contact your mutual insurance adviser.

Did you know?In the case of a chronic disease, if you have the special status of “chronic disease”, the so called “maximum health bill” is automatically decreased by €100.

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THE GLOBAL MEDICAL FILE (“Dossier Médical Global” or DMG)

The global medical file (DMG) contains healthcare data, minutes of meetings (consulta-tions and visits) with the family doctor, data and results of consultations with specialists. Every-one is entitled to open a global medical file.

As soon as you have chosen to entrust your global medical file to your general practitioner, you will benefit from a 30% reduction on the co-payment of your consultations with this practitioner.

What do you need to do?

If you wish to entrust the management of your medical file to your doctor, ask him or her at your next consultation. To create your file, your doctor will charge special fees that will be reimbursed to you in full by your mutual insurance fund. If the system of the third-party payer is applied, you must not advance money to set up the health file with your GP.

GENERIC DRUGS

When a pharmaceuticals firm launches a new drug on the market, it benefits from the exclusive sale of the product for 20 years (patent period).

Once this protection period expires, other firms can use the active constituent con-tained in the reference product to market a drug that will have exactly the same virtues. When an equivalent effectiveness is rec-ognised for the two drugs, the new drug obtains the “generic” label and is eligible for reimbursement on the condition that it is cheaper. The reference drug is therefore no longer exclusive and its reimbursement rate is reduced.

It is then only reimbursed up to the amount reimbursed for the generic drug. The generic drug is therefore at least 2.7 times cheaper than the price of the corresponding reference drug (4 times for the preferential reimbursement rate beneficiary).

Did you know?• Some treatments are subject to the

approval of our consultant practitioner (orthodontics, medication, physiotherapy, etc.). Contact your MC adviser to find out more.

• If you are 75 years old or over, or if you are a chronic patient, you are also entitled to a 30% reduction on the co-payment of home visits from a general practitioner; this reduction also applies to all the general practitioners who have access to your file.

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When you are unable to work (following an illness or accident), you are advised to notify your mutual insurance fund as quickly as pos-sible, using the “incapacity to work certifi-cate”. Ask your GP to fill in the certificate and send it to the medical advisor of your mutual health insurance fund.

After that you must submit renewal certif-icates within two calendar days (48 hours) after the end of the current disability.

PRIMARY INCAPACITY TO WORK

The first year from the start of your incapacity is called the “primary incapacity to work” period.

For employees: the allowance comes into effect after the guaranteed salary period. During the early days or weeks of your inca-pacity to work, and depending on a number of factors (type of employment contract, trial period), your employer will continue to pay your salary. In fact, you are entitled to the guaranteed salary (“Salaire garanti”). At this time you will not as yet receive allowances via your mutual insurance fund.

For the unemployed : the allowance becomes payable from the beginning of your incapacity.

For the self-employed : during the first month of incapacity to work, no allowance is payable (qualifying period).

PLEASE NOTE : you cannot slip the cer-tificate into the mutual insurance fund’s letterbox because the postmark serves as proof of postage. Depending on your status, you have between 48 hours and 28 days to notify your mutual insurance fund of your inability to work. If in doubt, send it within 48 hours.

Incapacity to work and disability

Incapacity to work

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DISABILITY

If you have an accident, notify your mutual insurance fund. If medical costs are incurred following an accident, specify this each time you submit a reimbursement request, giving the date of the accident. Keep your proof of payment and reimbursement. Do not sign any document without consulting your mutual insurance fund, even if the sums proposed appear to be huge: they need to cover the consequences of your accident until the end of your days!

If you have an accident, notify your mutual insurance fund. If medical costs are incurred following an accident, specify this each time you submit a reimbursement request, giving the date of the accident. Keep your proof of payment and reimbursement. Do not sign any document without consulting your mutual insurance fund, even if the sums proposed appear to be huge: they need to cover the consequences of your accident until the end of your days!

Did you know?• That you need to submit your declaration

in good time, otherwise your allowances will be cut by 10% until the day your cer-tificate is received?

• That the medical adviser can call you in for a medical examination? An unjusti-fied absence will lead to the provisional or permanent suspension of payment of your allowances.

• That during your incapacity to work, any resumption of part-time work must be previously authorised by the medical adviser.

• That when you are going abroad, ask us for advice at least 15 days before your departure.

• That as soon as the medical adviser rec-ognises your incapacity to work, you will receive a series of documents. Some of these documents are to be completed and returned to your mutual insurance fund, others are to be kept.

Injured as the result of an accident?

Did you know?• That you should keep all the documents

relating to your accident: medical costs, physiotherapist, travel to the doctor, to hospital, co-payments, etc.?

• That you must tell your mutual insurance fund that these costs are linked to an accident?

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The mutual insurance fund covers hospitalisa-tion costs. However, patient may sometimes have to pay additional costs. From the time of admission to hospital, important decisions have to be taken: type of room and choice of doctor, etc. in order to avoid unpleasant financial surprises. The costs linked to being admitted to hospital can vary significantly, depending on the hospital, doctor and type of hospital admission.

When arriving at the hospital, you must com-plete a declaration of admission known as “choice of room and financial conditions”. This document is drawn up in two copies: one copy for the hospital and the other for you. Keep your copy in a safe place: it may come in useful if you need to dispute the bill! The Protection department responsible for defending the interests of MC members can help you to clarify any anomalies or problems with your bill.

Declaration of admission

Hospitalisation

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WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE DECLARATION OF ADMISSION?

This document lists the financial information relating to your hospitalisation. It will allow you to better identify the various elements that will have an impact on the final bill. In fact it clearly sets out the room surcharges and the supplements for medical services (fee supplements).

WITH THE DECLARATION OF ADMISSION WILL YOU KNOW THE EXACT AMOUNT OF THE BILL IN ADVANCE?

No, the declaration of admission is not a price quote or fixed estimate. In fact, it does not make it possible to estimate the exact amount you will be billed because certain costs cannot be predicted. For example, it is difficult to determine in advance the amount of cer-tain medical costs, in particular expenditure linked to complications, but also of certain non- medical costs.

By consulting www.mc.be, you can compare the prices charged by all the country’s hos-pitals. This is a very useful tool for preparing your hospital stay. You can also simulate the costs that a hospital stay might incur. And if you do not have Internet access, you can telephone MC free of charge on 0800 10 9 8 7 or pop into an MC branch. Our advisers will sit down with you to make this comparison on your behalf.

BE CAREFUL : certain charges, such as miscellaneous costs, or costs that are not foreseeable, are not listed. You may be required to pay these costs yourself and they may be very high. You can ask the hospital to tell you of the prices of products and services, such as telephone, television, beverages, etc.

To prepare your hospitalisation

Did you know?That patients’ rights are protects by law? This regulation helps promote trust and the quality of the relationship between patient and practitioner. Every patient has the right:

• to benefit from high-quality care;

• to have the free choice of care-provider;

• to be informed about his or her state of health;

• to give his or her free and informed consent for every procedure;

• to be informed about the status of the care- provider (registered, non-registered, etc.);

• to have access to his or her medical records;

• to have his or her privacy respected;

• to be represented by a person of trust;

• to have access to mediation.

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When you are admitted to hospital, the mutual insurance fund pays an amount on the basis of the rate of a shared room. This payment is made by the mutual insurance fund directly to the hospital. This method of payment is known as “third-party payment”. As a patient in a hospital, you yourself cover many other costs: a personal share for hospital admission, a number of compulsory fixed costs (drugs, clinical biology, etc.), a personal contribution to the price per day, additional costs for a telephone, etc.

To cover these additional costs, mutual insurance funds and private insurance com-panies offer you hospitalisation insurance. Thanks to Hospi Solidaire and its optional hospitalisation cover, MC contributes more to the costs linked to hospitalisation. Different packages are available to meet your needs.

More information on www.mc.be/hospi.

Billing Did you know?• That the doctor can’t request supple-

ments in a room with two or more beds (if he is registered or not).

• That supplementary fees and room sur-charges can add up to significant amounts on your final bill?

• That is your admission requires an implant (hip, gastric band, etc.) your doctor must be in a position to inform you of the price (sometimes very high) of the materials implanted?

• That the various costs (telephone, fridge, television, costs for accompanying adults, etc.) can also become a significant amount, especially for a long stay? The hospital is obliged to provide you with a list of prices for the various most common costs.

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Admission : entry to a care establishment (hospital, rest home, nursing home, etc.) to stay there for at least one night.

Assisting spouse: the spouse of a self-employed worker who helps that worker conduct his or her business.

Care-provider: the party who provides medical or paramedical care (general practitioner, specialist, physiotherapist, nurse, etc.).

Care provision: medical or paramedical service (e.g. a consultation with a general practi-tioner, or descaling treatment at the dentist).

Certificate of care administered : an official, mandatory document on which the care- provider gives details, in the form of codes, of the care dispensed by the provider to a social insurance policyholder. Based on this document, the policyholder will obtain a reimbursement contribution from his or her Healthcare and Benefits Insurance.

Consultant doctor: the consultant doctor is responsible for checking on the incapacity to work of members, as well as for checking the health services provided (speech ther-apy, physiotherapy, etc.). Sworn in by the medical control department of INAMI, the consultant doctor is employed by the Medical Department of the insurance body to which the doctor reports. Consultant doctor plays an important medical and social role in terms of providing guidance and advice. In so doing, he or she contributes to the optimum use of the resources in the social security health sector.

Dependant : an individual who is not a poli-cyholder, but as a dependant of the member/policyholder, is able to claim benefits under the Mandatory Healthcare and Benefits Insurance scheme.

Disability: inability to work lasting for more than one year, recognised by the Disability Medical Board on the proposal of the con-sultant doctor of the mutual insurance fund.

Fee surcharges : depending on the type of practice and status of the doctor, surcharges for medical services may be billed in addition to the official rate.

Healthcare and Disability Insurance (ASSI), also called Mandatory Insurance. This is the arm of social security system that combines the reimbursement of healthcare services with benefits paid for incapacity to work or disability.

Hospitalisation : admission to a hospital establishment for treatment there.

Individual : policyholder with no dependants under the criteria of the Mandatory Health-care and Benefits Insurance.

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Maximum billing (MAF) : reimbursement of medical expenses for households over and above a certain spending ceiling. Once the total for the patient’s contribution paid by the household reaches the ceiling (this amount is set according to household income), and contributions paid by patients subsequently are reimbursed by the mutual insurance fund.

MC: Mutualité chrétienne.

Member: a person who has elected to become a member of Mutualité chrétienne to obtain social cover for himself or herself, as well as for any dependants under the Mandatory Healthcare and Benefits Insurance scheme.

Mutual health fund : a non-profit prudential association of natural persons that provides mutual assistance and support. Its aim is to promote physical, mental and social wellbeing (Act of 6th August 1990).

Official rate: this is the price set by the agree-ment between the healthcare fund and the medical practitioner for a particular service. Registered healthcare-providers undertake to abide by the official rates. The official fee is made up of the amount reimbursed by the healthcare fund and your own personal contribution (i.e. the amount remaining to be paid by you).

Personal or patient contribution : is the amount of the statutory rate remaining to be

paid by you after the contribution made by the healthcare fund.

Preferential Reimbursement Rate Beneficiary (BIM) : formerly known as VIPO, this system covers disadvantaged social categories of individuals whose income is below a certain ceiling. BIM allows for the highest level of reimbursement for all healthcare services.

Primary incapacity: year one of the person’s inability to work for health-related reasons recognised by the consultant doctor of the mutual insurance fund.

Social security: the system of social insurance based on mutual solidarity, funded by individual contributions, taxes and State subsidies. This insurance covers loss of income and any increases in spending due to the vagaries of life.

Supplementary insurance: as a mutual health-care fund, Mutualité chrétienne (MC) is required to offer its members services that are supplementary to ASSI. Contributions to sup-plementary insurance cover are mandatory.

Third-party payments : billing system that provides for the direct payment of care by the Healthcare and Disability Insurance scheme to care-providers, services or institutions. Individuals who have received this care are then only required to pay the balance after the intervention of the Healthcare and Disability Insurance scheme.

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Regional Headquarters

MC Brabant WallonBd des Archers 54, 1400 NivellesTel: 067 89 36 36brabant.wallon@mc.be

MC Hainaut OrientalRue du Douaire 40, 6150 AnderluesTel: 071 54 85 48anderlues@mc.be

MC Hainaut PicardieRue Saint-Brice 44, 7500 TournaiTel: 069 25 62 11haipi@mc.be

MC LiègePlace du XX Août 38, 4000 LiègeTel: 04 230 16 40contact.liege@mc.be

MC Province de LuxembourgRue de la Moselle 7-9, 6700 ArlonTel: 063 211 711arlon@mc.be

MC Province de NamurRue des Tanneries 55, 5000 NamurTel: 081 24 48 11namur@mc.be

MC Saint-MichelBld Anspach 111-115, 1000 Brussels Tel: 02 501 58 58st.michel@mc.be

MC Verviers-EupenRue Laoureux 25-29, 4800 Verviersverviers@mc.be

Contact us!

BECOME A MEMBER OF THE MC AND ENJOY ALL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.

Ask for it free of charge by calling 0800 10 9 8 7 (free call) or visit www.mc.be. Discover also our website “Welcome to Belgium”: www.mc.be/welcome-belgium

La solidarité, c’est bon pour la santé.

MUTUALITECHRETIENNE

Publisher: Jean Hermesse, chaussée de Haecht 579/40, 1031 Brussels MICBRO013EN-17 – September 2017 – Cover image: © iStock.Printed on recycled paper.

Tel. 0800 10 9 8 7 (free call)Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 6.00 pm and Saturday from 9.00 am to 1.00 pmwww.mc.be